Obama’s Nuke-Powered Drone Strike on America’s Energy Future

So the “all the above” energy strategy now deems we dump another $6.5 billion in bogus loan guarantees down the atomic drain. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has announced finalization of hotly contested taxpayer handouts for the two Vogtle reactors being built in Georgia. Another $1.8 billion waits to be pulled out of your pocket and poured down the radioactive sink hole.

A nuke-powered drone strike on fiscal sanity.

While Fukushima burns and solar soars, our taxpayer money is being pitched at a failed 20th century technology currently distinguished by its non-stop outflow of lethal radiation into the Pacific Ocean.

Take that $6.5 or $8.3 billion and invest it right now in wind, solar, sustainable bio-fuels, geothermal, ocean thermal, wave energy, LED light bulbs, building insulation and Solartopian south-facing windows.

The money is to pump up a pair of radioactive white elephants that Wall Street won’t touch. Georgia state “regulators” are strong-arming ratepayers into the footing the bill before the reactors ever move a single electron—which they likely never will.

Sibling reactors being built in Finland and France are already billions over budget and years behind schedule. New ones proposed in Great Britain flirt with price guarantees far above currently available renewables.

The Vogtle project makes no fiscal sense … except for the scam artists that will feed off them for years to come.

Substandard concrete, unspecified rebar steel, major labor scandals, non-existent quality control … all the stuff that’s defined this industry since the Shippingport reactor started construction outside Pittsburgh some six decades ago is with us yet again.

It would be nice to say this is merely $6.5 billion wasted. But that’s the tip of the iceberg. Long Island’s Shoreham and New Hampshire’s Seabrook came in at 5-10 times their original cost estimates.

Shoreham never made it to commercial operation. Neither did Seabrook Unit Two.

Should Vogtle, for which these loans are designated, beat the odds and actually go on line in the years to come, it will multiply its sunk cost by irradiating the countryside and creating radioactive waste nobody can handle.

Nor can it get private insurance to shield future victims and the taxpaying public from the inevitable disaster. The next commercial reactor to explode (joining the five that already have) will do damage in the trillions.

Its owners will not be liable, and the people making this decision will never go to prison.

But many along the way will pocket major fortunes from substandard construction, corner-cutting “safety” scams, black market parts purchasing, mafia-run hiring operations and the usual greasing of radioactive palms that defines all reactor construction projects.

Take that $6.5 or $8.3 billion and invest it right now in wind, solar, sustainable bio-fuels, geothermal, ocean thermal, wave energy, LED light bulbs, building insulation and Solartopian south-facing windows.

Comments

Truly deplorable. I don’t understand how such a smart guy is so very wrong so very often on the issue he is pinning his 2nd term on – climate change.

gerryhiles

He is corrupt. That fixes what you’ve not understood, unfortunately.

Papa T

deeply corrupt

CaptD

They almost ALL are thinking far more about their Big Donors than what is best for the USA!

wrymind

Maybe we should name them Fukubama?

alanolson270

Someone must have a gun aimed at the Presidents’ head.

gerryhiles

Not necessary, when bribes do the job, e.g. million dollar holidays, insider information for financial scamming and a guaranteed salary for life.
JFK was the last President who ever had to be threatened by those who really control the world, all the rest were “in on it”.

CaptD

Well said!~

M. Wilson

Spoken like a true RepUGLY! Yet another “conspiracy theory.”

gerryhiles

LOL. Firstly: I am an Australian. Secondly: I am a life-long socialist, to the extent that I tend towards any ideology.

Adam Green

I hate the term conspiracy theory; it stands as a fallacious way of demeaning a persons argument

Cara Alex

Dropping the “conspiracy” word is how ignorance tries to get out of a debate.

When Volgtle nuclear power station starts up it will generate reliable electricity for decades. It will do this fossil carbon free. It will do this safer than any other grid power. Power generation will not depend on the wind blowing or the sun shining. The materials used in the construction are mainly sourced from the USA. The utilities contractors are using mostly U.S. citizens and All are paying local, state and federal employment taxes. Grid scale solar and wind systems dreamed about in Solartopia will depend on methane gas back up generation or coal back up generation like Germany is proving. Nuclear power CAN be a back up to wind turbine farms and solar p.v. and solar thermal grid systems. Nuclear power for base load for cities and industries and solar and wind farming and advanced bio fuels will provide fossil carbon free power. Oh and like it or not, all of the above described power systems use federal loan guaranties to facilitate financing.

hogy

This is ridiculous propaganda in favor of the latest nuke scam. First, there is no secure method of retaining nuclear waste. Given that fact, why make more of it? Second, waste from nuke power plants has to be kept on site because there is nowhere to send it safely nor store it safely. This lack provides a first-rate site for attacks by terrorists. Third, this is yet another monetary scam (aka federal loan guarantee) perpetrated on us taxpayers by the nuke industry, courtesy of their friends in Congress and the US President.
This should be fought against. It is beyond time to keep on rolling over in the rad-clover. Wake up people!

Scott Medwid

These two AP-1000 are standardized units. They have passive safety systems. The used fuel assemblies will be stored on site in cooling pools then dry casks. All these systems have ben tested. Critics have reviewed data. Concerns have been addressed. Read what Wikipedia has on the AP-1000 here:

Polluted Food, N☢ Problem, people should mix the good to dilute the bad

Polluted Homes, N☢ Problem, people can power wash them clean

Polluted Schools. N☢ Problem, students and teachers can clean them

Polluted Cities, N☢ Problem, residents will be able to return soon…

Since Fukushima proved that Nature can destroy any land based nuclear reactor, any place anytime 24/7, mankind has really just been very lucky (so far) that we have not had more Fukushima’s to date. I am not looking forward to the next Fukushima, no matter its cause, because I believe it will be even worse because it will probably immediately affect far more people who will be forced to relocate because of it…

Said another way, the nuclear industry itself cannot afford another Fukushima ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET because it will doom their entire industry, yet they are still promoting, at least in the USA, for less not more oversight from their regulators. (Example, how many US reactors have deferred required maintenance for multiple years simply because they do not want to spend the money making them?) Is it any wonder that Wall Street is now looking for other energy investments?

Show your numbers and sources for your claims, I do. I read reports in my spare time. I’ve read widely on energy and environmental issues for 35 years. Ever since I was compelled by my government to sign up for President Carter’s Selective Service call up (the Iran hostage crisis draft registration). I was against nuclear weapons and nuclear power when I campaigned with Green Peace in the late. After extensive reading on climate change. I have changed my mind about Nuclear Power. I advocate for advanced fluid fueled reactors that work in the slow neutron range. I really want to see Molten Salt Thorium Breeder reactors and Uranium 233 burner reactors come into testing. If they work as tested, I would like to see them get built.

I want the government run the reactors, just like the U.S. Navy runs the ship propulsion reactor program it has run very safely since the Cold War ended. I want to see Afgan and Iran War Veterans Run these machines for utility companies. Give the big fossil fuel utility corporations tax credits for buying the advanced Generation 4 reactors to replace Coal fired electrical generators of 250 megawatts or more. Lets take Coal power off line as much as we can starting with the oldest and dirtiest plants first. Use Gas powered electrical plants to back up wind and solar utility grade electrical generation complexes. We can save the mountains of West Virginia this way. We can save thousands of peoples health this way. Many think that advanced reactors will provide Energy Cheaper Than Coal.

By the way, I don’t make a penny from the power industry. I am an independent, unpaid advocate.

CaptD

Your dream of the Government running all reactors is not going to happen because nuclear reactors are cash cows for the Utilities that run them who are also held harmless if anything really BAD happens, so giving that up is just wishful think on your part. Please post a link showing that Utilities are interested in doing that.

You are not the only one that has been watching the Energy sector for a long time, and that really does not matter these days one can become very well educated via the web about costs, operations and other factors regarding energy generation.

As far as post factual info, better try and lay that on somebody else since I include links in most of my comments, like this one I posted on the NRC Blog site:

RE: “However, this was the 13th issue related to scaffolding at Ginna since September 2012″

Guess the Ginna Operators did not get the message the first dozen times!

Fines of $10,000 that get TRIPLED for each repeated failure to conform to Reg.’s would solve this issue quickly.

As we have seen before, all too often, workers failing to follow safety rules can start fires or WORSE; now is the time for the NRC to fund a study by an outside non industry group to determine why the NRC is having so much trouble enforcing its own Regulations and who the biggest Industry offenders are so that their sites can be “flooded” with additional NRC inspectors from outside that Region, in order to bring the Utility up to compliance or SHUT THEM DOWN.

It is obvious to me that the NRC has been far to lenient to the Operators of Ginna for far to long!

The USA cannot afford even one Trillion Dollar Eco-Disaster like Fukushima and it is up to the NRC to insure that never happens to US, so them treating the operators of nuclear power plants like spoiled children is not acceptable!

Scott Medwid

From the NRC blog you sited in the above link:

“Based on the inspectors’ feedback, the company posted workers in the area until it could take more permanent action to prevent access to the area. After more questions by the resident inspectors, the company performed a thorough review of both units (called an extent-of-condition review) and found twelve additional areas that required enhanced controls/postings. An NRC inspection report documented the finding.

These are two good examples of inspectors remaining aware of changing conditions and activities taking place in the plant. It also shows the inspectors asking the important question “have you considered the extent of condition?” This review may uncover a programmatic issue and/or increase the risk significance depending upon the condition of other similar systems, structures or components.”

So… inspectors found a problem, the company found similar issues and then the problems were solved? Sounds to me like people who care are doing their jobs!

As for Generation 4 reactors. There have been test reactors built and operated over the decades but no developmental stage machines have been built as far as I can tell. Some of the Gen 4 machines are radically different than todays existing fleet. Could have the institutional dexterity to develop and run a civilian/military electrical power public utility to run MSR breeders and burners. Granted, my idea is all theoretical, but I’ve found that never saying never to an idea can make one look silly after the implementation of an idea.

There are already plenty of Ex Navy folks running civilian reactors, which is why they refer to the nuclear power plants as the US Nuclear Fleet!

Because Utilities first order of business is generating massive profits, despite what they claim about safety being their number one goal, these same Utilities are creating the situations that put the entire USA at risk.

CaptD

Scott Please post some links that show that your statement

“Nuclear Power is NEW CLEAR energy. Clean and Green!”

is anywhere factual (cradle to the grave, which includes storage) and make sure you are not just cherry picking facts otherwise your slogan is just more *Nuclear Baloney (NB).

There is no reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in the US. Reprocessing was cancelled by president Carter due to political considerations. The following is a 16 minute film that explains what nuclear waste is AND what can be done with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVCaUonrbE#t=73

Thank you for your time and consideration and your spirited defense of nuclear power.
As a resident of Georgia, I am especially interested in Vogtle.

However, even in your eloquent presentation, as usual, you nukers sidestep the elephant in the room – 200,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste stateside with no place to go…(Yuk Yucca!) and the US Nuclear Navy alone adds an additional 10,000 tons annually.

On-site storage in Spent Fuel Ponds and then dry casks are a stop-gap measure at best, and you know it, if you are as knowledgeable as you would have us believe.

There exists no long-term storage even being seriously considered after the Yucca Mountain $11 billion debacle.

The fact of the matter is we need to clean up the existing spent solid fuel in storage at reactors right now. Burying that material “as is” is NOT the answer. The waste has value if it can be reprocessed. Molten Salt Reactors are coming back. The U.S. may miss out on developing these machines but they are being built right now in other countries using the research reactor data the old Atomic Energy Commission compiled in the 1960’s. The American advanced reactors were killed by the Coal and Oil interests and their friends in the Anti-Nuclear / Environmental movement of the early 1970’s.

Scott Medwid

From your post: “We advocate a moratorium on new construction of nuclear power plants and a serious appraisal of the 23 Fukushima-IDENTICAL here in America.”

OK I get that you folks are against Nuclear power the way it has been done. The existing fleet has generated electricity with no fossil fuel emissions. If US reactors are closed what will make up the missing 20% of grid power? France generates 70% of it’s grid power from nuclear reactors. They also reprocess and reuse the fuel. Ontario Canada uses generated 40% of it’s power from nuclear another 40% from hydro and most of the rest from fossil gas. Fossil gas backs up solar electric and wind turbines. If you are against nuclear power then what are you for?

The existing fleet is big and complicated, it uses solid fuels and water moderators under high pressure to turn adjacent water into stream to turn turbines. The existing fleet has done this relatively safely for years. Nuclear power is much safer that all other grid power sources.

Scott Medwid

I encourage thinking people to take a look at this film on energy. Switch. You’ll learn something. The web site is a gem too!

Interesting article, I would like to see more links. Especially for the second to last paragraph;

“But many along the way will pocket major fortunes from substandard
construction, corner-cutting “safety” scams, black market parts
purchasing, mafia-run hiring operations and the usual greasing of
radioactive palms that defines all reactor construction projects.”

I’m a physicist and I believe that Nuclear could be safe, effective and with a liquid fuel technology (LFTRs) would produce NO waste. Unfortunately the industry is corrupt and, as you rightly discuss, leaving such a powerful elemental force to corner cutting private firms leads to ruin. TEPCO is our current case in point and they should have their assets reclaimed/liquidated by the Japanese government rather than shielded by secrecy laws.

I work on solar energy technology in England and have a great interest in matters of the energy economy. To be frank the current path we’re set on paints a gloomy picture of the future to come. We’re not going to stop a 2degC increase in average global temperature because there simply isn’t the political leadership to stop our consumption of fossil fuels. The US energy market is very much fossil fuel dominated and unfortunately the US is slow on the renewable energy uptake. China seems to be waking up faster;

Here in the UK our politicians are almost as bent as yours in the US and Fracking is the new big thing and despite large opposition and protests the desires of the people are swept aside, surprise surprise (forgive my cynicism). We also have plans for a new fleet of nuclear power plants and France and China want in on the action. I’m not sure why we don’t just build the blasted things ourselves but there you go.

I’d like to add that I know that many Physicists “believe that Nuclear could be safe, effective” but what is obvious to others that also have training in Physics is that, “in practice” those charged with making most if not all of the important decisions are in reality placing profit far ahead of safety, so despite all the claims to the contrary, wonderful computer added engineering and even regulatory controls we will still have accidents.

Additionally, since man builds to specifications that require that safety limitations be set in the design phase of any project, which then results in the ever prevalent fact that Nature can destroy any land based nuclear reactor, any place anytime 24/7 simply by exceeding one or more design parameters!

In short, this is why using nuclear is N☢ longer Safe or even practical!

Adam Green

I hear you. I would add that building reactors near fault lines stands as arrogance; we’ve never had an accident in the UK, but our geology is incredibly benign here [EDIT: actually, we’ve had three, sorry my error. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_power_accidents_by_country. We shouldn’t forget also that the Fukushima plant was old tech. and should have been decommissioned 10 years ago. Also sea wall defenses weren’t good enough. Captain hindsight to the rescue again!

Regardless, it is my feeling that it will be fossil fuels, deforestation and destructive agricultural and fishing practices that will destroy us all in the end, not nuclear energy.

Scott Medwid

There have been no nuclear power accident fatalities in the U.K. only the Soviet Union in 1987 (50) and Japan (7) early in 2000’s. Zero at Fukushima.

Adam Green

Although American sailors sent to aid were doused with radiation and Fukushima related fatalities will be on the horizon no doubt;

True enough and many of the original workers at Fukushima have gone “missing” and their records have been lost… Health issues are being downplayed in Japan to protect the nuclear Utility Gangs and now the Japanese Gov’t. is also preventing public discussions on anything they find objectionable!

Just LOVED your two very long run-on sentences followed by one short one!

Adam Green

He writes well…

CaptD

Thank You, it is rare for another Physicist to accept any of my discussion that is not Pro-Nuclear so I’ll be happy to follow you into the future we both face!

Adam Green

Our future is entwinned and I but stand as slave to truth, as I understand it. As new evidence comes to light I must readjust my views or else be a coward. Sometimes people think it weakness to back down on preconceived assumption, in fact the opposite is true. Slaughter ones ignorance and see joy of hope in future rise. This is truest hope, truest wisdom, truest compassion. Only truth and compassion can give the people of the world the future they deserve; all else is diversion. I will not stand for such…

CaptD

Thanks, hopefully you really mean it!

I guess that is why engineers always get their work peer reviewed, ;^)

Once I get better at it, I’ll see if my fans want me to stop using my pen name… LOL

Molly

Well said and thanks for info.

http://takeamericaforward.com Peter Asher

I knew a plumber who worked on Shoreham. His first day, he
was taken to a stairwell and told to wait for work orders; Sat on his tool box
all day and nobody came by.

CaptD

YES- The ability to look busy and at the same time not asking questions about it, is a requirement for most contractual work done these days, especially for Uncle Sam.

Josh Lake

We must keep an eye on the U.S. It’s on suicide watch. Help!

AngelaQuaoar

People focus on Obama or on Mr X or Y, they are BLIND. We have to face a SYSTEM, a group of people who are manipulating the world, some of the most powerful megalomaniac shareholders are dictating their laws …
The people pass, pass away, the Machiavellian system continues !

CaptD

Yes the FIX is in and it is Anti-US Solar and Pro-US Nuclear because it has ties to the nuclear military industrial complex which is all powerful since they receive 60+% of the entire US Budget!

Niko

Sorry to see that nuclearchy is not limited to France and the EPR…

CaptD

So are the ratepayers of Georgia, they will be paying “out the nose” for decades if not generations of expensive energy from this Nuclear Turkey, while other States install clean SAFE Solar (of all flavors) that will provide low cost Energy and Green jobs.

Georgia, which is one of a few States that seem to be controlled by the Pro-Nuclear Lobby, will see these reactors enslave Georgia’s ratepayers for many decades if not generations and that is if everything goes as planned. It is obvious to me, that their decision makers are receiving some form of Nuclear Payback* because right now the cost of installing Solar is far below the cost of installing new nuclear and by the time this “nuclear boondoggle” is up and running. The ratepayers of Georgia could have been receiving many, many years of clean solar energy since all the new Solar could have been installed many years before this project is completed and without any cost overruns; while also creating a huge number of good paying jobs at the same time.

This is a step backwards and I believe that Georgia will lose businesses due to high priced Energy, because of this poor decision; which also puts all Americans at risk should their be an accident like Fukushima “for any reason” since those that run the project are indemnified by the Price-Anderson Act for any cost above 12 Billion dollars! It is clear that the Democrats have caved into the nuclear lobbyist and their well funded Congressional representatives by approving this project that could NEVER be built without Government assurances since Wall Street would never have backed this RISKY investment!

Nuclear is in reality, only a “good deal” for the Utilities and their shareholders that own them because ratepayers have to pay for everything, even mis-management (like the debacle that occurred at San Onofre NPP which left ratepayers holding a multi-billion dollar bill) and that does not even include decommissioning which has its own set of huge expenses which will continue “forever”.

In short, nuclear is no longer fiscally acceptable, if it was then these Utilities would fund them themselves instead on requiring Gov’t. guarantees!

Those that support nuclear power because nuclear power somehow supports them; no matter what the health implications or other “costs” are for others.

Pete Sipp

The suffocation of reality near the reactors is complete. The same people that run the newspapers control what comes out of the t.v’s. I used to live near vogtle. I am speaking from 21 years of watching the brainwashing actually work. I am a survivor, I did not allow myself to be ‘herded’ like most are that reside there. I moved away from there. WHEW!!! There is reality else where!!!

If you disagree with the fatality statistics, please provide your sources of information (And news stories don’t count, provide a list of referenced studies). Take a read through the reference links at the bottom of the Wikipedia entry.

izzie4real

Fukuishima in Japan and now the WHIPP site in South Eastern New Mexcio has an out of control radiation leak above and below ground. It is too hot to get into the site and this occurs just after a truck caught fire a few weeks ago inside the salt deposits where the material is being stored. http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3334009.shtml#.UwjmeoV1lrU I assume the worst because the NRC play book probably contains something about not alarming the public and causing a panic so with that said assume that it is way way worse than the honest nice people at the WHIPP site are letting on to….RUN, duck & cover, pray, or just bend over and kiss your @ss good bye if you live near there.

Last August, the Energy Secretary, fresh from MIT, kicked off Columbia University’s new Center on Global Energy Policy. There most recent speaker – just this past week – was WSJ writer Gregory Zuckerman, discussing his peon to entrepreneurship, The Frackers. At the inaugural event with Moniz, it was noted that the White House was very pleased with the center’s creation – as a medium to tell its (all of the above) story.

Molly

So sad – and you describe it so well, tragic really plus of course sick to think the powers that be think supporting this is ok…

Alexander Wood

I really hate all these anti-nuclear articles from supposed environmentalists. I normally support most environmental efforts, however, this anti-nuclear FUD is not only just that, it’s completely counterproductive to the mission of reducing CO2 emissions. The bottom line is that for baseload power for the next century, it is a choice between pulverized coal and nuclear (maybe combined cycle gas or IGCC coal, but those are almost as bad as straight pulverized coal). Renewables will grow, and we should certainly invest in renewables, but as energy demand grows, and we move to the electrification of heating and cooling (i.e. heat pumps and geothermal), trains, transit, cars, and more, we will only need that much more electricity, and we need reliable baseload power.

All that being said, the two things that we aren’t doing right in the US with nuclear power is that we aren’t building 100-200 new nuclear reactors, and that we aren’t investing in 4th generation nuclear reactors, which will eventually get us beyond today’s 2nd and 3rd generation plants, and can re-use the waste that we’re stockpiling today, and sustain us with nuclear power for centuries after advanced 3rd gen plants that are being built today are EOL’ed.

The FUD at the end of this article is just ridiculous. Nuclear power plants don’t dump radiation out, in fact, the levels of radiation for someone living a few miles away are far smaller than the average person gets from medical X-rays and such. Shoreham was ready to rock and roll, until a FUD campaign against it, partly by so-called “environmental” groups, as well as heating oil dealers (great combo there) ran a campaign, and the average idiot citizens believed the fear-mongering about the plant.

And I’m not saying just put it somewhere else. I’m not going to NIMBY it. I live just over 11 miles more or less downwind of Millstone, a 2 reactor, 2GWe pair of PWR’s. I think, if possible, they should build another one, if they can build it on the site of the now de-commissioned Millstone 1. I support building them here in CT, as well as around the country. The more clean, safe, nuclear electricity we can get, the better.